Weight Gain even when I ate under the calorie level?!

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  • AngelaHester
    AngelaHester Posts: 3 Member
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    HAHAHA : )
  • ironhouse
    ironhouse Posts: 6 Member
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    what are you drinking throughout a normal day? do you track your liquid calories? if you don't drink calories... how many glasses of water do you drink? there's really no reason that you would gain weight if you're burning more than you intake, first, I would think you're possibly consuming more calories than you realize, esp. if you're drinking basically anything outside of water and not measuring your food, which doesn't seem necessary to me unless something like this is happening...

    the body also has natural fluctuations, day to day, if you're talking about 1-3 lbs. back and forth from day to day, I think it's just normal fluctuation, but if you're generally staying around the same weights, and it's not your goal weight, you should adjust your diet/routine, that's my two cents
  • emeditator
    emeditator Posts: 5
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    Thanks to Jaclynn for term "scale *kitten*". Cracked me up this morning! Exactly describes my relationship with the scale! Been weighing myself everyday since I started last week. Need to stop!
    Jean
  • wagtail685
    wagtail685 Posts: 4
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    Another possibility is you're too far under your calorie goal too often. Your body can sometimes go into 'starvation mode' if it detects it's not getting enough energy and start to store fat reserves. You should try and get to your calorie goal as close as you can even if you feel you don't want to.
    But I find a better gauge of weight loss can sometimes be how your clothes feel. Scales are important and we all look closely at the figures on the dial, but as has already been mentioned if you are gaining muscle then check how your clothes fit and that might dispel any concerns.
  • sharleengc
    sharleengc Posts: 792 Member
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    Eating under doesn't always mean you're eating enough. I agree with pretty much every post so far but here's my two cents...


    1. What time are you eating your last meal? Sometimes if you eat late at night and get up early, it can reflect on the scale because not everything has been digested. I tend to try and eat by 6at the latest (and i use to be a late night eater) and then if I need a snack later, I always save about 100 calories for a snack. If I eat later, the scale is always higher in the morning than if I eat earlier.

    2. How often are you eating? Are you having 2 larger meals? 3 meals? Or lots of little ones? Maybe try changing up how you're eating. I used to not be a breakfast eater but now I at least have instant oatmeal or a granola bar every morning (both under 130 calories) and about 210-240 calories for lunch (I alternate between a few different ready to go meals), and usually a 90 calorie snack. That's enough to get me through the day and then I make dinner when I get home with the left overs but still save some for a snack...

    One last thing. Make sure you are measuring your food (if you can). If you can't and you are just guesstimating. I'm not saying its wrong to guess but maybe leave a little room. I prefer to measure but when I have to guess, I mark it down as a higher amount. Like I think it's a serving size so I mark it down as 1.5.
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
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    See the formula in this thread to see if you are eating enough....

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/494655-eating-enough-to-lose-weight-sent-by-a-bootcamp-instruct?error_user_id=6516604&error_username=JeSuisPrest&page=4

    Or just use this spreadsheet.... http://interzone.kicks-*kitten*.net/Calculating_calories.xls

    Again without seeing your diary it's impossible to advise you correctly. But I suspect that you aren't eating enough. Good luck to you!
  • delilah47
    delilah47 Posts: 1,658
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    Same thing happens to me. The day after weigh-in I will have gained 2-4 pounds. This goes on all week, day by day I can go up and down up to 4 pounds. Then I sweat and try all week to get them back off and I am lucky if the next weigh-in I weigh the same as I did the week before. I am under calories every day by just a bit, so it doesn't seem like it would be from not eating enough. I do eat 6 "meals" including snacks, so my calorie intake is pretty evenly spread throughout the day. I quit eating ALL of my exercise calories because I would end up gaining at the next weigh in. I agree with the OP it is VERY frustrating when you don't see any results for weeks after you have worked so hard. Hopefully, she will stick with it and not give up... like me. :smile:
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
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    Focus on FAT loss, not WEIGHT loss.

    Consider this...
    The average apple weighs about 5 ounces (a third of a pound).
    The average american woman weighs 164 pounds.

    Imagine the average woman steps onto a scale holding 6 apples (approx 2 pounds). The scale would reflect a weight of 166 pounds.

    Imagine the average woman EATS six apples. If she steps onto the scale, she's still going to weigh 166 pounds. She's still holding the apples, albeit in her stomach not her hands.

    6 Apples @ 100 calories per apple = 600 calories per 2 lbs of food. Obviously after it is metabolized and the leftovers are "processed by your intestines" eating 6 apples could not possible cause you to gain 2 pounds of FAT.

    Therefore, the woman is NOT 2 pounds fatter, in this case is means she's carrying 2 pounds of undigested food.

    There are hundreds of things that cause fluctuations in body weight. Hormones may cause your body to retain more water one day than another. One day you may have more undigested food in your intestines.

    Focus on trends... if in general you tend to loose 2-4-6 pounds a month, that is a success! The day to day fluctuations are absolutely meaningless when it comes to measuring progress. If these freak you out, don't weigh as often.
  • QuentinHardage
    QuentinHardage Posts: 21
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    Same time of day weigh on days after bowel movement, measure body fat monthly, and drink lots of water. Water increases metabolism. Weight gain is due to full intestines, increased muscle, or body fat.
  • TamImbrogno
    TamImbrogno Posts: 72 Member
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    I just had to UP my calories last week! After I upped them 100-200 cals I started loosing again!! I'd try that! And like everyone else said stay away from sodium..that can pack some lbs on! Always gets me!
  • foxbat2828
    foxbat2828 Posts: 391 Member
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    Hey guys,

    During the past 6 months I've been using my fitness pal, sometimes I'll workout really hard, burn a lot calories, and then at the end of the day when I stay under my calorie goal; I wake up to find I've gained 2 pounds!!

    Is this normal?? Can I actually gain 2 pounds in a night? I don't know what is happening, does someone??


    Love,
    A concerned college girl :)

    A couple of things to check as I had the similar issue when I thought I was eating healthy, cutting back, and working out.

    Measure out the food that you are eating if you aren't already doing so. I was going by estimates ... like a 3 oz. portion of meat is the size of a deck of cards. When I started weighing things out, I started realizing that what I thought was 3 oz. was actually 3 1/2 or 4 oz. Same thing with simple things like pasta helpings, etc. Those extra ounces add calories really quickly if you don't keep an eye on them.

    Be careful using MFP's exercise estimates on things. Some of them are fairly accurate, but some of them are way off ... on the high side. I find this true on the lower end items like light cycling or light walking. Whenever possible, use a HRM to get a better estimate of what you are really burning or punch in the numbers for weight, etc. if you are working out at the gym to get a better idea of what the true calorie burn is.

    Lastly, sodium. The more processed food you are eating, probably the more sodium you are getting. In a single Lean Cuisine meal you could easily be picking up a 1/3 to 1/2 or more of your daily sodium recommendation. Some soups and salad dressings can do the same thing. If you are getting too much sodium, your body's going to hold on to more water/liquid. Making sure you get enough to drink throughout the day will help flush this stuff out, but even with good water consumption, if you have too much sodium, the water will "hang around" in your body.
  • QuentinHardage
    QuentinHardage Posts: 21
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    Wife is on low sodium plan, so my meals have almost no salt. I must take salt with water after workouts, for my exercise regimen is demanding; so i have problems with dehydration. I use Himalayan Pink Salt or natural sea salt. Problems of constipation, headaches, and formation of kidney stones are relieved with hydration and salt in water after vigorous exercise.
  • QuentinHardage
    QuentinHardage Posts: 21
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    My recommendation is to consume bulk of carbohydrates at breakfast and lunch, having more protein for supper. First meal of day should be higher in calories and decrease for each meal of the day.

    Exercise requires more calories giving the body and mind satisfaction. Natural organic foods are better. Eating holistically with exercise makes one feel great, but to loose weight one must burn more calories than consuming. Rather than eating less with no exercise and becoming depressed and unhealthy, I prefer eating well with exercise or just plain movement.

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